Archive for May, 2012

Your child is teaching you lessons, open your heart to receive their gifts.

Remember to play: Life is not all about working, paying bills and keeping up with housework. Let’s go outside and play.

Breathe: If you don’t remember to do this I’ll test you so you remember.

Simplicity and joy can be found in any moment: I can find pure joy in a bucket of water on the beach or swings on the playground, can you?

I’m not what I do, but who I am: It’s those sparkly qualities in me of kindness, silliness, and compassion that transcend what I do. I remind you that you are not what you do, but who you are.

Love: I am pure love, loveable, and loving-reminding you that love of self and others is the healing balm for your soul.

It’s fun to get lost doing something for hours. I can spend all day on building something and forget everything else. What gives you so much joy that you can get lost in it for hours and lose track of time?

I’m so curious about the wonders of world. Things are fascinating and interesting, I want to know how the world works and why. When’s the last time you explored, tried something new, looked at the moon or a puddle, or pondered why?

Cuddles and hugs rule: I remind you of how joyous it is to hug and be hugged and how you sometime forget daddy/mommy loves to snuggle & cuddle too.

I’m so funny and so are you: Yup, sometimes I get laughing so hard things come out of my nose. When’s the last time you had a good belly laugh? Lighten up and stop taking yourself so seriously (even the boo-boos you make)!

I can help you grow and heal your hurts: I remind you of your childhood, the good stuff, and the not so good. You can decide what you want to let go of from your past (and what you want to keep) so we can have a different relationship than you did with your parents.

I am the expression of pure bliss: There are moments when I remind you of the beauty and joy of life and you feel connected to something so much greater than yourself that your heart spills over with gratitude.

CQ Playful Creative Activity:

Pull out some art materials and reconnect with your curiosity and create with your child. Color your favorite animal, create a fairyland, build with Legos, or create a scribble drawing together. You’ll build the positive connections with your child and learn some valuable lessons from them too.

Need some more ways to positively & creatively connect with your child? Join the Professional Community! The IPPC is surprisingly affordable and includes monthly parent & professional support calls, guest faculty calls with parenting and family experts, quarterly Q&A calls, instant access 24/7 to support resources, and a supportive, non-judgmental & downright awesome community of parents & professionals…all for just a few pennies per day. Click here nowfor all of the exciting details.

If you and your child were fighting recently it’s likely that you were arguing about homework. It breaks my heart to hear about how homework power struggles damage a parent and child’s relationship- and how children lie, manipulate, shutdown, yell, and procrastinate over homework. The impacts to their self-esteem and your relationship are long lasting.

The truth is homework time does not need to be a battle-ground, and you can help set your child up for life-long success if you teach them how to positively communicate, and ask for support to get their needs met…

Your child is amazing, smart, creative, and you can help them be successful in school and in their lives with some extra support.

Want to learn some encouraging tools to help your child manage homework headaches and worries and return peace to your home?

Join me on Tuesday, May 22nd for the International Parents & Professionals Community (IPPC) Support Call “Stop Homework Power Struggles: Step to minimize the homework battles and make homework time peaceful” * Don’t worry if you can’t make the call, you’ll have access to the audio recording you can listen to anytime 24/7!

On this call I’ll share:

Ugh, why is my child procrastinating when they could just get their homework done? You learn why some kids struggle and what you need to know to ensure you are setting your child up for success

By shifting this one thing you will make homework time less stressful and chaotic for everyone in your home

How to make homework time head-ache free with these 4 simple tips

Are you overcompensating for your child? I’ll share with you how you can help support your child without rescuing them, so they learn responsibility

Creative strategies to help you stay in your parenting authority when your child is pushing all your buttons

I’ll share with you the homework life saving tip that will help you keep your sanity! This alone is worth your IPPC membership

You’ll leave this call with lots of practical tools you can apply immediately to make the end of the school year the best one yet!

This call and audio recording is F-R-E-E for IPPC Members. This exciting International Parents and Professional Community is surprisingly affordable and includes monthly parent & professional support calls, guest faculty calls with parenting and family experts, quarterly Q&A calls, instant access 24/7 to support resources, and a supportive, non-judgmental & downright awesome community of parents & professionals…all for just a few pennies per day. Click here now for all of the exciting details https://thecreativityqueen.com/ippc/

I would love to share with you tools and strategies to support your child so they can feel happier and more confident, and end homework battles for good!

There are 100’s of things we ask of our loved ones each day. Everything from making your bed, brushing your teeth, doing homework, stop picking on your brother/sister, listen the first time I ask you….

Yes, these are all the daily to-do’s that you and your child need to navigate; and at times it seems like you are endlessly reminding them of all the things they need to take care of (again and again). You may feel like you have become so disconnected from your child or teen or you are always reminding, lecturing, nagging and you’ve lost the loving relationship with your child you used to have.

CQ Playful Creative Activity:

Here’s a simple and playful way to lovingly reconnect with your child and loved ones.

Invite your inner child to play for a moment. So imagine the child within you that is the same age of your child or teen. Close your eyes if you need to and remember what it was like to be 5, 8, 12 or 16. Take a deep breath in and out, connect with and resonate with the feelings of being that age.

You can take out a blank paper and crayons or markers to help you connect with that child-like aspect of yourself. Write or make images in response to the following questions:

What was important to you then? What did you love doing and if you could do it all day, what would you do? How did you feel about the relationships in your life- your parents, your siblings, your friends? What did you wish that others knew about you?

If you could share anything with your parents, (and they could hear it without reacting), what would you let them know?

Then take a new piece of paper and create images and words to the questions above from your child’s point of view.

What do you discover about yourself and your child from this activity?

When you reconnect with your childlike self and remember what it was like to have all those big feelings and thoughts about others and yourself, you are able to show up with more empathy and compassion for your children. With this awareness you can choose to refocus on what’s important in your relationship and compromise or let go of power struggles.

As we move into the end of school year there is often more stress, frustration, worry, and arguments over homework, from both parents and children. There may be missing homework, or your child says they don’t have any homework and you find out from their teacher that they had a project due, and they didn’t turn it in. Perhaps sitting down to do an assignment turns into a big fight, or your child is so distracted and fidgety that they waste thirty minutes procrastinating, and there are some parents who would rather just get it done, so they end up doing the project for their child.

Yes, homework headaches stink for everyone!

Yet, for your child, struggling at school and with homework may have a deeper impact on their feelings, self-competency, and self-esteem. Here are some thoughts and beliefs that children may develop when they struggle with homework:

I can’t do it

I must be dumb

Why is my bother/sister better

If I procrastinate then my parents will get frustrated and leave me alone

My teacher doesn’t like me

I don’t want to tell mom/dad about my schoolwork because they’ll be mad

If I wait to the last minute then I might be more motivated to do it

I don’t have a clue where to begin

Maybe they will do it for me

My parents/teacher will get really mad because I didn’t listen

I try to listen, but sometimes it doesn’t make sense and I don’t want them to think I’m stupid

If I ask a question in class everyone will make fun of me

Everyone else gets it, why don’t I

Something must be wrong with me

I never do anything right

Why are my parents always yelling at me

I don’t want to ask a question because they will get upset

I’ll just guess on all these answers and turn it in

If I finish this quickly I can play and do the things I like to do

It seems like all I do is homework and there is never anytime to play

If it’s at the bottom of my bag then they won’t see it

I can tell them I already did it

It’s easier to say I forgot and maybe I won’t get in trouble

I’m going to get yelled at/lectured/punished anyway, so what’s the point

I don’t want to be embarrassed

Sometimes I get excited and I forget what I’m supposed to do

I try hard, but I never seem to get it right

There must be something wrong with me

No one else has these problems

I wish I knew how to do it, but I don’t

It comes easy to all the other kids, but not for me

I make one little mistake and that’s all my parents and teachers pay attention to

I’d rather lie that get in trouble

I’m worthless

I should be punished,

I’m stupid

I’m unlovable

Notice how a child’s thoughts and beliefs can quickly spiral downward if they have a poor sense of self. You can help shift these negative patterns by changing how you respond to homework problems and by teaching your child skills to manage homework stressors.

Needs some support to help your child manage homework stress? Join us for the upcoming International Parents & Professionals Community Support Call “Stop Homework Power Struggles: Step to minimize the homework battles and make homework time peaceful” & receive free access to the call replay 27/4!